Grave goods in early medieval burials: messages and meanings
- Title
- Grave goods in early medieval burials: messages and meanings
- Creator(s)
- Härke, Heinrich
- Date
- 2014
- Is Part Of
- Mortality
- Volume
- 19
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 41-60
- Language
- eng
- ISSN
- 1357-6275
- Short Title
- Grave goods in early medieval burials
- Abstract
- Objects in graves have been a traditional focus of burial archaeology. Conventional interpretations of their meanings revolved around religion (equipment for the hereafter, Charon’s Penny), legal concepts (inalienable possessions) and social structure (status display, ostentatious destruction of wealth). An interdisciplinary perspective drawing on archaeological literature, anthropological evidence and sociological theory widens the range of possible interpretations. Textual sources of the Roman and early medieval periods highlight the importance of gift-giving to the deceased, but also to deities. Anthropology shows the importance of the disposal of polluted items in the grave, and of protecting the living. Ethnographic cases also underpin theoretical considerations concerning the role of biographical representations (metaphors) during the funeral, as well as emphasising the desire and the need to forget the dead. Textual and archaeological evidence from the Early Middle Ages suggest that these motives were not sharply separated, but that many of them played a role during any one funeral. In addition, motives changed over time, and the associations of particular grave goods (such as coins or weapons) varied across time and geographical regions. Above all, multiplicity of messages and variability of meanings characterised the deposition of objects in early medieval graves.
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